title: Global harmonization of food safety regulations: perspectives from Japan after the Fukushima nuclear accident.
abstract: Japanese food self-sufficiency was only 39% on the basis of kcal in 2012, so Japan relies heavily on imported food. Hence the necessity of having international rules on the regulation of food contaminants is important especially for countries like Japan that depend on food imports. A One-Stop-Testing system is desired, in which the test result obtained from a single testing laboratory is accepted as valid worldwide. To establish this system, laboratory accreditation under international standards is a necessary step. Furthermore, the importance of supply of reference materials for internal quality control and proficiency testing for external quality control of each laboratory's analytical system is reviewed in connection with the experience of radioactive nuclide contamination resulting from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in March 2011.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Bioscience, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, 1-7-1 Kyonancho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo, 180-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshida
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce; D005507:Food Contamination, Radioactive / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D059022:Food Safety; D005523:Food Supply / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D007564:Japan; D007881:Legislation, Food
keywords: Fukushima nuclear accident; One-Stop-Testing; laboratory accreditation; proficiency testing; reference material